If you notice that this passage talks a lot about the Holy Spirit, then it won’t surprise you that this Sunday is Pentecost. Looking toward this Sunday, I wanted to post a little earlier because I’m going to give you a homework assignment! That’s right…but I’m getting ahead of myself.
First, let’s take a look at Philip. He’s our great touchstone in this passage. He asks the question on everyone’s mind. Jesus has been talking about “the Father” this and “the Father” that, so naturally, Philip asks to see the Father. Jesus then goes on to explain the Trinity…Father, Son, and now Holy Spirit. You can almost hear from Philip the grand theological articulation that any of us would make in that circumstance: “Huh?” [translated from the original Aramaic, of course :)]
So, how can we understand a little bit about all of this — especially the coming and role of the Holy Spirit? For me, the spark of it comes when Jesus tells us what the Holy Spirit does: “the Holy Spirit…will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” Let’s sit with the word remind for a bit.
Okay, now comes the homework assignment. Go watch Star Trek II and Star Trek III, or at least watch this clip. Why? I think we might be able to “get” a little bit about how the Holy Spirit works by watching Spock and McCoy. Before Spock sacrifices himself [I would say spoiler alert, but the movie came out in 1982!], he does a Vulcan mind meld on McCoy, telling him “Remember.” Well, if we move forward to Star Trek III, we start to really notice that McCoy acts differently — at odds with himself. He is naturally a very bombastic and emotional individual, but he becomes much more coldly logical. It’s like his whole personality changes from the inside out. We eventually find out that Spock “imprinted” his essence on McCoy in that exchange. McCoy has been carrying around two souls for most of Star Trek III.
It is very difficult to understand anything about the Holy Spirit — or the relationship of the Father and the Son for that matter. Words don’t cut it. We’re often left, like Philip, not understanding. Also, when the Holy Spirit does work, it’s so hard to explain to someone on the outside looking in. So, I thought maybe watching a movie or two might help.
So, this weekend, try watching Star Trek II and Star Trek III…and think about the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of you…he is coming…